A Silicon Valley software entrepreneur and poet combines left of center political analysis with an occasional blood-curdling shriek.

September 19, 2006

Earth To The Democratic Party

Facts don't speak for themselves.

An ill economy does not mean
the voters know what you stand for. A war going badly does not mean the
voters know what you stand for. A broken health insurance system does
not mean the voters know what you stand for.

Republicans are all
spin, all the time. Democrats are one pallid slogan a week ("We can do
better"???) and a wan hope that things will get so bad that voters will
vote for change, even if they don't know what that change is.

Democrats
need to convey insight. A slogan based on an insight the voters
recognize as true has the power to shift elections, inspire loyalty,
and drive change.

Democrats also need to be on the attack, all
the time. Relying on the facts, in and of themselves, to make your case
means that you can't attack. Without constantly attacking, you can't
drive the debate. That means your opponent gets to define you.
Democrats get slimed into the loser column all the time.

A slogan should

Convey an insight that voters recognize as true.

Be on the attack

...at the same time. That's important! Don't do one or the other, but both. The slogan isn't
ready until both are accomplished, elegantly and ferociously.

Here is a sample, not the most aggressive, but a good basic.

Substance Not Spin.

Note
this characterizes anything your opponent says as a rejoiner as spin:
he is put on the defensive, where you want him to be. You have declared
yourself as purveyor of substance. Self-definition is powerful! Use it
often, use it aggressively, use it with clarity of purpose. This is a
good baseline slogan because you have prepped the discourse to receive
your proposals and ideas as 'substance'. You have whetted the appetite,
for there will be more to come.